Thinner Table

September 05, 2008

You thought only humans embark on the rather futile journey of achieving a size zero? Well think again as the “thin is in” bug is catching the A&D industry too. Less curves and more straight lines have always been the mantra of contemporary designers but Tobias Berneth goes the extra step with the Thinner Table.

The Thinner Table may possibly be the world’s thinnest table. Just 6mm thick (or is it thin?), the table is available in four heights of 400, 480, 730 and 900 mm. Manufactured for Karl Andersson & Söner, the Thinner Table comes in veneers of oak, birch, walnut, white laminate, and black-stained oak. What’s interesting about the Thinner Table is its rather sculpturesque presence inspite of it being a little emaciated. Berneth has managed to make the table dramatic in scale and form by imbuing it with an individualistic character. By eschewing conventional dimensions with his Thinner Table, Berneth creates a product that offers a stimulated environment.

According to the designer, Thinner seeks to create an illusion of a weightless surface (and here I thought it was just trying to be an Olsen twin of A&D). To ensure utmost permanence and resilience, Berneth has designed the table like “[a] wing of an aeroplan”.

At the end of the day, product design should always touch upon the realm of artistic sensibilities without sacrificing functionality. The Thinner Table certainly fulfills this criteria via a fusion of functionality, a harmonized design trajectory, and creative experimentation.